STUDENT POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT DOES
IMPACT PHARMACY

OCTOBER 01, 2007

Eileen Koutnik-Fotopoulos

The health care industry is constantly
evolving, and it continues to
be a political issue for the presidential
candidates. In today?s health care
landscape, pharmacy students need
to do more than just get their degree.
Because pharmacists are on the front
lines in helping ensure patients?medical
needs are met, students need to
get involved with pharmacy associations?
legislative arenas.

Pharmacy student
Logan Davis,who attends
Samford University
McWhorter
School of Pharmacy
in Alabama, knows
political involvement
is important,
since he wants to
practice in an independent
pharmacy setting. ?While
many may say that independent
pharmacy is becoming a thing of the
past, I know that an independent
pharmacy can be extremely successful
if it is willing to change with the
ever-changing pharmacy marketplace
and the growing health care
needs of its patients.?

When he began pharmacy school
in 2004, he became a member of the
school?s National Community Pharmacists
Association (NCPA) chapter.
His most recent position was vice
president of legislative affairs. Logan
also is a member of the Academy of
Student Pharmacists and the Alabama
Pharmacy Association. ?Through
my involvement in these organizations,
I have come to realize how
important it is for pharmacy students
and pharmacists alike to become
familiar with the political process and
be current on political issues that are
affecting the profession.?

Logan believes that getting politically
involved is beneficial for pharmacy
students, especially those wanting
to own their own pharmacy.

?I feel that it is important for students
to get politically involved because
we have chosen this profession,
and it just so happens that the profession
of pharmacy is regulated by the
government. With the potential for
this regulation on the increase, with
the expansion of Medicare, now is the
best time to get involved and know
what is going on in our local, state,
and federal governments as it pertains
to pharmacy. I also feel that the
profession offers so much to students,
and we owe it to all who have
come before us and all who come
after us to do all that we can to protect
the profession.?

He also feels that political involvement
presents networking opportunities.
?The way I see it, I want to
know pharmacists who care about
the profession, and there is no better
way to get to know someone than
working with them on a political
issue that affects pharmacy. This is
especially true in independent pharmacy,
as independent pharmacy
owners usually feel the effects of
pharmacy legislation and regulation
at a very personal level.?

University of Mississippi (UM)
School of Pharmacy student Brooke
Emmons knows it is crucial for pharmacy
students to take leadership
roles and become politically active.
While Emmons has worked at Magnolia
Regional Health Center in the
pharmacy department for almost 10
years, she is using her last year of
school to explore all the areas that
have interested her throughout her
pharmacy experience to determine
where she will have the biggest
impact.

Emmons is involved in numerous
pharmacy organizations including
the school?s American Society of
Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP),
where she is serving as president,
NCPA chapter, and the American
Pharmacists Association (APhA). She
recalled her first trip to Washington,
DC, during the NCPA Legislative
Conference.

?It was amazing to watch the individual
impact that citizens can make
by educating our elected officials on
issues that shape the world around
us,? Emmons said. ?They were so
approachable and receptive to the
needs of pharmacists, and they were
not at all as intimidating as I had
imagined.?

She credits Mississippi Rep Bobby
Howell, RPh, for his efforts in helping
community pharmacy. Howell owns
the only pharmacy in Kilmicheal,Miss.
?He has been instrumental on the government
side in expressing the current
dilemma of community pharmacy
with regards to reimbursement issues.
He has become a mentor for me in
providing insight into not only the
ins and outs of the political process,
but also small town
pharmacy.?

One of Emmons?
biggest challenges
was when she served
in the newly created
coordinator position
for the Student
Political Information
Network within
the school?s APhA chapter. ?Because
it was so new, I had to be
creative with getting the word out
about political issues?not just to
students within the organization and
in the student body, but to elected
state and national officials as well.?

She said she is committed to ?the
profession of pharmacy, and believe[
s] in the power of leadership as a
future medication expert. Through
leadership roles in ASHP, APhA,
NCPA, and UM School of Pharmacy
Student Body Government, I have
learned there is no greater way to get
the ball rolling than to be in a position
to push it yourself.?

Both students agree that many
challenges are impacting the future of
pharmacy. Logan believes the commoditization
of prescription drugs is
a concern. ?As drugs become more of
a commodity, the need for a pharmacist
decreases. Pharmacists need to
prove their worth with current
opportunities such as MTM [medication
therapy management] services.
Many Medicare Part D plans cover
this service in some form or
fashion, but I do not think that pharmacists
should stop there.?

He continued, ?Pharmacists have
the ability to save corporations large
amounts of money by managing the
therapy of chronic diseases, such as
diabetes, as shown in the Asheville
Project and the Diabetes Ten City
Challenge, to name a few projects. In
a political environment where the
cost of health care is a hot-button
issue, pharmacists must be able to
show added value for their services.?

Emmons feels that lack of leadership
is a major issue. ?You cannot
stand up and ask others to serve, if
you are not willing to serve yourself.
Because of this, I have been actively
involved as a member of all the student
organizations in pharmacy
school to support my fellow colleagues?
endeavors within their leadership
growth. I enthusiastically learn
from their direction and mimic positive
aspects of it to apply to my own
leadership skills.?